Marble Halls: Jemima's Story
by DemeterFluff
Summary: Jemima's story: from after the Jellicle Ball in the show to her falling in love with Mistoffelees, to their kittens. Dedicated to Chicomecohuatl/Crystallia Starwind. Please R/R! ~*~Chapter Two finally added!~*~
1. Marble Halls: Chapter One

Marble Halls: Jemima's Story

By: Chalchihuitlicue

For: Chicomecohuatl

~*~*~ **Chapter One ~*~*~**

Jemima had always known her father was a tyrant. She had grown up fearing him, because she had been told stories of what he had done to her mother. He had kidnapped her, dragged her away from her home and family, raped her repeatedly, and left her on the streets to die. Her father's name was Macavity.

Her mother, a sweet, golden queen named Demeter, was found and rescued by the tom Jemima considered her father, a silver tabby named Munkustrap. Jemima was glad Munku had adopted her. She was the only kitten Demeter was able to give birth to, because she was barely more than a kit herself, and Munku had agreed to be Demeter's mate and help her raise the kitten, since Macavity was his brother.

However, Jemima knew her father wanted her back. She was able to sense things, sometimes through dreams, but more often, she would just get intense feelings about a subject. And she sensed her father wanted her. It frightened her.

Her screams of terror that night roused her mother and adoptive father immediately. Her mother's frightened but concerned deep green eyes brought Jemima back to reality, and Munku's soothing words were comforting. Jemi knew she had the most wonderful family she could ever desire. She also knew that that would come to an end if her real father had anything to do with it.

"What is it, Jemi?" obviously, her parents were trying to get information out of her. She had just been crying and in hysterics, and hadn't been making sense at all. The question from her mother brought the tiny black and white queen back to her senses.

"It's my dad... I mean, my real dad... Macavity. I had a bad dream about him," Jemi replied, trying to be honest and not worry her parents. She knew they were always worried that Macavity might try to take her away from them. She was starting to get worried about it, herself.

"He won't ever hurt you, Jemi," Munku told her. Jemi felt it was more of a comfort to her mother than herself. His words didn't mean very much to her; then again, he had never saved her from dying, either.

Jemi sensed that her mother was frightened for her. Her mother had had visions before, and she must have been frightened that Jemima had the same divining talent that her golden mother possessed. "It's okay, Momma," Jemi told her mother. "It was only a nightmare, after all." She looked into her mother's eyes with her own large brown ones, and Demeter seemed comforted.

"You'll be okay?" Demi murmured to her daughter. Jemi wanted to roll her eyes at her mother, but simply nodded her head instead. Demi gave her daughter a light kiss on the cheek, and left her alone to sleep. Munkustrap silently followed his mate away from his adoptive daughter, casting one glance back at her.

Jemi wasn't sure just when sleep took her again, but it was sometime shortly after, and she dreamed peacefully.

~*~*~

The sun's rays warmed her black fur, and Jemima didn't want to wake up, but found that she could sleep no longer. She rose, and stretched elegantly, flexing every muscle in her forelegs and back, then her hindlegs. She yawned, shaking the last vestiges of sleep from her body.

A short distance away, her friends Electra and Etcetera were having a war with a few small yarn balls, and some small rocks. Jemi watched them for a while, wondering who would win, as the pair seemed evenly matched. Lec and Etcy finally noticed she was there when one of them (she wasn't sure which one) accidentally hit her on the face with one of the balls of yarn.

"Hey, Jemi!" greeted Etcy, bubbly, as always. "What's up?" she inquired with a a big smile that was almost always on her face. Jemima liked Etcy's optimism. It was a good quality.

"Not much," Jemi replied. "I just woke up, actually. Anything happen while I was asleep?" Etcy shrugged, and Lec shook her head.

"No," Lec groaned. "Unfortunately. This place is so boring sometimes!" Jemi laughed; what Lec had spoken was definitely true. Not much happened in the Junkyard when it wasn't near the Jellicle Ball.

"I wish something would happen," Jemi sighed, and the three youngsters sat in silence for some while. Jemi was struck by the feeling that something bad was going to happen soon, but pushed it from her mind.

She heard pawsteps behind them, and turned around with a sick feeling in her stomach. It was a black tom. "Oh!" she cried, relieved by who she saw.

"Oh?" inquired the black tom, Mistoffelees by name. "Oh, what? Expecting someone else?" He seemed a little hurt by her reaction.

"Nope!" Etcy replied, "Although I was kinda hoping for the Tugger to show up..." She trailed off, lost in a daydream about her idol, the Rum Tum Tugger. She was obsessive over the tom, and even the other kittens thought she was going a little far. Misto looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

Lec had apparently wandered off, as she was no where in sight. There came a squeal of delight, and Etcy vanished. Jemi looked off in the direction she ran, and spied the Tugger. Misto seemed surprised that Jemima didn't join her friends, chasing the handsome tom.

"Why aren't you about after them?" he asked after a moment.

"I dunno," Jemi said. "Didn't seem interesting enough. How many times can one chase after the Tugger without getting bored?" Misto shrugged, and again they sat in awkward silence.

A scream echoed through the otherwise mostly still Junkyard. Jemima sat bolt upright: "That was my mother!" she cried out in alarm. Misto seemed alarmed by the cry as well.

"I wonder what's wrong?" the black tom mused aloud. Jemima was already off, running to find her mother and find out what was wrong. Misto tore off after his friend, not wanting her to get hurt if Demeter was in trouble.

"Jemi, wait!" he called, as he struggled to catch up to her. "I don't want you to go alone, you could get hurt!" Jemi slowed enough to allow Misto to catch up to her, without giving him a word of acknowledgement.

Together, they raced in the direction Jemi's mother's cry had eminated from. They found nothing, they ran all the way to the boundary of the Junkyard, but found no sign of Jemima's mother or, for that matter, her adoptive father.

"There's no sign of Momma," Jemi murmured to herself, tears of worry and loneliness pricking at her eyes. She sniffled, and wondered what to do.

"Do you think we should try to find someone to help us?" Misto inquired, not really knowing how to comfort his friend. "We are only kittens, after all."

"But who would be able to help us?" Jemi asked. "We know who probably did this... my father."

"Munkustrap?!" Misto was taken aback.

"No, silly!" Jemi almost giggled at Misto's misunderstanding; and it was then that she realized that hardly anyone knew that Munku wasn't her real father. "My real dad."

"Munku isn't your real father?" Misto asked, amazed that Jemi had managed to hide such a secret for so long a time. "Then, who is?"

Jemi turned away. _Should I tell him the truth?_ wondered the tiny queen. _What if he hates me because that monster is my father?_ She decided that honesty would be the best idea. Tears filled her eyes again, and she told him, "Macavity."

"What?!" cried Misto. "How did that come about?" Jemima gave him no answer. "I'm sorry," he apologized immediately, "I shouldn't have asked. That's too personal; I understand if you don't want to talk about that."

"It's okay," murmured Jemi. She forced herself to smile. "It shouldn't bother me that much. I mean, I have my mother, and a loving adoptive dad, so I should be fine, right? But right now, I don't wanna talk about it. We have to find someone who can help my mother!"

The two cats then raced back to the centre of the Junkyard, looking for anyone who might be able to help them. They spied Jemi's uncle, Alonzo, a short distance away.

"My uncle should be able to help us," Jemima told Misto, and raced toward Alonzo. Lonzo's expression grew concerned as Jemi and Misto approached him; it wasn't like them to look so serious.

"What's up?" he asked when they were close by.

"I heard mother scream," Jemi explained, fighting back tears of worry. "I don't know where she is... We tried to find her, but we couldn't." She blinked back her tears.

"Stay here, you two," Lonzo instructed. "I'm going to find Skimble." Jemima watched her uncle disappear into the shadows, and hoped that he would soon figure out something to do, and that they would find her parents.

~*~*~

Alonzo and Skimbleshanks went to search for Jemima's parents outside of the Junkyard, vowing to return within a day. Asparagus, and Mungojerrie accompanied the other two toms on the journey.

Jemima watched the four leave with a somewhat heavy heart. What if they met the same fate that had befallen her mother and father?


	2. Marble Halls: Chapter Two

Marble Halls: Jemima's Story

By: Chalchihuitlicue

For: Chicomecohuatl

~*~*~ **Chapter Two **~*~*~

As Jemima watched them leave, tears welled in her eyes. "I hope they come back soon," she muttered. She turned away from the leaving toms, and wandered aimlessly back into the Junkyard. She was just barely aware that Mistoffelees was following her. Once she was aware of his presence, she slowed down.

"Are you okay?" inquired the rather small, black tom, once Jemima had stopped moving. Jemi shook her head slowly.

"I'm not sure," she replied. "I think so, though." She sniffled, then smiled and looked at him. "They'll find my mom and dad, right?" she asked, the innocence in her eyes biting into the black tom.

"You know they will. We're talking about Alonzo, Skimbleshanks, Gus and Mungojerrie! How couldn't they?" he replied, trying to make himself look optimistic to Jemi. "You bet they'll bring home your parents right away."

Jemima's smile broadened. "You're great, you know that, Misto?" she told him, her eyes sparkling. Misto blushed, and Jemi giggled when she noticed. "You're blushing!" she laughed.

He whacked her over the ears, and the two started playing to take their minds off the disappearance of Demeter and Munkustrap. Jemi laughed harder, and pounced on Misto's tail. He yelped a bit as she sunk in her claws, but rounded on her and tackled her.

Jemi's eyes gleamed, and she hunched low, ready for another attack. Misto grinned, and readied himself to parry it. Jemi came flying at him before he knew what she was doing, and the black tom found himself pinned by her.

The small queen was obviously proud of her accomplishment, and Misto decided he'd had enough. He decided to use a bit of magick, even if it was cheating. He was getting tired of playing, anyways, so what harm could it do?

Jemi screeched as he shocked her paws. She leapt off of Misto, and hissed at him. "That wasn't fair!" she pouted. Misto just laughed; Jemi was very cute when she was upset. The black tom tried to approach her, but Jemi just turned away, with a noise of disgust.

"Oh, come on!" Misto cried. "It couldn't have hurt that badly."

"And what if it did?" Jemi asked, turning to face him, and raising an eyebrow. Misto reflected that she looked a lot like her aunt, Bombalurina, when she did that.

"It couldn't have! My magick is only supposed to hurt people when I want it to hurt them," Misto replied, in a stuck up way. Jemi frowned.

"Well, it hurt," she hissed, turning away from Misto. She briskly walked away from him, and rounded a corner.

"Wait!" called Misto after her. "I'm supposed to watch over you! I can't watch you if you wander away!" He hurried after her, but before he rounded the corner, a scream echoed through the Junkyard.

"Jemi?!" he cried, hastening his pace. He found her, crumpled on the ground, after apparently fainting. "Jemi... come on... wake up!" Misto's brow furrowed, and he knelt next to the fallen queen. His paws began to tense, and sparks formed around them. A large spark flew from his paws and into Jemima, and she instantly awoke.

"What happened?" asked the tiny queen, almost instinctively. She glanced around nervously, and forced herself to sit up.

"To tell you the truth," Misto replied, "I'm not entirely certain. You just stalked away, and I heard you scream. Then I ran after you and found that you had collapsed." Jemima just blinked at the black coloured tom, trying to remember what had happened.

"I still can't remember what made me scream," huffed the tiny queen, obviously angry that she couldn't. She rose to her feet, and scanned the area nearby once more. She sighed, and started walking again.

The sun's light bounced off a broken mirror, creating a strange light effect on the ground in front of Jemima. "Are you sure it wasn't just your reflection in that broken mirror that scared yoU?" Misto laughed. Jemi turned around, and glared at him, but giggled under her breath.

"No," she instantly hissed, and turned her back on the black tom. She walked off briskly again, and was dismayed when Misto continued to follow her. Remembering that he was supposed to be watching her, Jemi reluctantly let him follow.

Apprehensively, she sat down. "When do you think they'll get back?" she asked out of the blue. It took Mistoffelees a minute or so to realize that she was talking about Alonzo and the other toms who were looking for her parents.

"I don't know," the black tom replied, shaking his head. "And I don't think there's any way of knowing."

Jemima stared at the ground. Misto knew that that wasn't exactly the answer she had been hoping for, but he didn't feel that he could lie to her. He got a strange feeling whenever he was around her that there was something special about the little black queen.

~*~*~

It was well after nightfall that Alonzo and the rest of the search party returned. They had managed to find both Demeter and Munkustrap, who had been kitnapped by Macavity and his henchrats. Jemima's mother was crying, and clinging to Munkustrap, who just held on to her numbly, not really knowing what to do.

Jemima sensed her parents' return. "They're back!" she told Mistoffelees joyfully, and raced off to greet Demeter and Munkustrap without another word to the black tom. However, Misto wasn't far behind her.

"Mama!" cried the small queen, running up to her parents. She purred, and hugged her mother tightly.

"Oh, Jemima!" Demeter sobbed, and threw her arms around her daughter. "I was so worried that Macavity might have taken you too!" It was then that Jemima noticed that both of her parents were bleeding from various injuries.

"What happened?" she asked, instantly concerned about the safety of her parents (Jemima always had seemed rather grown-up for her age). "Did Macavity do that to you?" Munkustrap nodded to Jemima, because Demeter was too overwhelmed with her emotions to be able to respond. Jemima and her mother slunk back to their family's den, glad to be safe in their home once again.

Misto took the opportunity to leave. He turned, only to be called back by Munkustrap. "Alonzo told me that he wanted you to protect Jemima," the silver tabby explained, "And I was wondering if you might want to do that, more than just today. I can't watch her all the time, and it would be easier for someone closer to her age to watch her."

The black tom didn't know what to say. He would be glad to help out, but he wasn't quite sure if Jemima would appreciate having him follow her around. "I can if you want, Munkustrap," he responded at last. "But Jemima won't like it."

Munku smiled. He didn't want Misto or Jemi to realize it, but he'd seen the way they looked at each other. They both had a crush on the other, and Munku was determined to see if the relationship would work.

"I know," responded the silver tabby at last. "I'll have a talk with her about it. She doesn't like some things I do, but she usually realizes that I try to do what's best for her." Misto smiled at the protector of the tribe, but he still seemed doubtful.

The black tom turned, and started to move away. "She won't hate _you_, if that's what you're afraid of," Munku told his retreating figure. Misto paused, blushing crimson all over his face, then he darted away.

Munkustrap chuckled to himself, recalling when he would have been that embarassed about his infatuation with Demeter. He wandered toward the den he and his family shared, and crept inside.


End file.
